Leather Sofa vs. Fabric Sofa- Which Suits You best?

A sofa is a huge investment that one makes while interior designing or decorating their living rooms. Selecting the best sofa for your space is indeed a task in itself. During the process, one is faced by the big question or confusion – whether to go in for a leather big sofa or a fabric one. To be truthful, the choice totally depends on the user’s preferences. The choice of material is determined by various factors vis-à-vis the kind of usage, budget, look in mind, so on and so forth. Both the materials have their sets of pros and cons. These do not render one material perfect as compared to the other. The following article enlists and elucidates the pros and cons to make the choice a few steps easier.

Features At A Glance - Leather Sofa vs. Fabric Sofa

#1. The Furniture Care and Upkeep

Leather sofas are easy to clean and maintain. Just wipe the sofa with a damp cloth and you are done. The ease of maintenance makes it children friendly.

Fabric sofas have a moderately high difficulty level when it comes to their maintenance. These can be stained or torn easily, therefore, need a lot of care when there are kids or pets in the house.

Tip – Despite the fact that the best leather sofa is easy to maintain, one needs to moisturize the leather periodically to keep the shine and charm intact.

While, fabric sofas have high difficulty level for their upkeep, yet there are options like dry cloth dusting, vacuum cleaning etc. to take care of your sofa on a regular basis. To keep the color intact, one should refrain from exposing the fabric sofas to sunlight.

#2. Aesthetics And Visual Luxury Of The Living Room Furniture

The leather has an inherent property that gives a sense of visual luxury to the element and the space in question. The mere presence of the leather sofa transforms the feel of the room to luxury living room. But one should show the presence of mind while selecting the color of leather. For instance, if one wants to go in for a dark colored sofa for their space, they should first ensure that the space around the sofa has adequate negative pockets to strike a balance and create a harmony amongst the elements of the room. A wrong choice might actually end up being a blot in the room as opposed to being luxurious or aesthetically pleasing.

Fabric upholstery of the sofa helps in instilling life into the space by means of colors, textures, and patterns. The upholstery can help in determining the look of the furniture and the space to a great extent. The chosen fabric helps in determining the character of the space. These can resonate the feels such as luxury, corporate, intimate etc. depending on the chosen upholstery.

#3. The Contemporary Sofa - ‘Wear In’ Or ‘Wear Out’ - Over Time

Leather wears in with age and gets better. It is made to last for years together. As the year's pass, the skin of leather develops a natural patina that adds on to the beauty of it thus rendering it more attractive.

When it comes to fabric, it is an understood phenomenon that it ‘wears out’ over a time-period. The fabric is more susceptible to ripping and stains. The rate of wear and tear of the fabric is also determined by the grade of fabric that was used. Therefore, the quality of the fabric should be well determined before buying it.

Tip – To make their fabric upholstery last long, one can even go in for removable covers to protect their main upholstery from wear and tear, which remains reserved for special occasions only. This helps in increasing the overall life of the fabric upholstery.

#4. Hypoallergenic Couches

The leather couches because of its molecular form do not attract dust mites, pet dander, and other allergens, as compared to fabric and is therefore suitable for spaces that cater to people with allergies.

Fabric couch attracts dust mites, pet dander, and other allergens, and should be avoided where the people with allergies use the space.

#5. Pet Peeves - The Contemporary Leather Sofa

The sharp claws of pets can easily damage leather, so it is a negative choice when you have cats and dogs in the house. The leather once scratched appears ugly and one needs to get the entire sofa reupholstered to get rid of the scratches.

Fabric through a little resistant to the claws of the pets is still prone to damage. However, the claws pose a lesser threat but pet dander does get on to the fabric easily. Which can be cleaned by dusting or vacuum cleaning the sofa whenever the need arises.

#6. High - End Furniture: Colour / Pattern Palette

However, leather has its own set of advantages, but the biggest limitation comes with the limited color palette and finishes.

This area proves to be advantageous for fabric sofas. There is an array of options for colors, patterns, and textures available to choose from for upholstery. Owing to the available variety, one has the chance to be creative while deciding their sofas. The fabric even gives the freedom to experiment with the various tactile qualities, from rough to smooth.

Tip – Today, in the market there is an array of options that replicate the leather texture on a variety of colors. One should be careful so as not to fall into a trap to end up buying faux leather for the price of leather.

#7. Cost - Affordable Sofas

Leather sofas fall a little expensive, as the basic material is available at high costs. So these are the ones to choose when the person has an open budget or is very rigid to have a leather sofa in their space.

A higher cost of Reupholstering

Even when one wants to transform the look of their sofa and want to go in for a leather upholstery they should keep in mind the high costs that would be incurred even when re-upholstery is being considered.

Fabric Sofas are well within one's means owing to the wide bracket of the range that they are available in. These are affordable furniture and the desired look can be achieved in the sofa set.

Easy to Reupholstering

Even if one gets bored with the upholstery or the upholstery wears out with time, it is easy to get it re-upholstered as opposed to the leather sofa. The reupholstering is light on the pocket and can also help in revamping the look of the sofa at a reasonable price.

Tip – Since the costs of leather are higher, one should be well aware of the material before purchasing it. The awareness In terms of grades, types, tanning etc. will help in making a wise and an informed decision regarding the sofa.

#8. Home Furniture - Level Of Thermal Comfort

Leather tends to warm up in summer days, so it becomes uncomfortable for a person to sit on it during the summer, especially if the person is wearing shorts or tanks, where the skin comes in direct contact with the sofa.

Fabric upholstery provides the necessary comfort through the day and year. It does not heat up when in touch with the skin, therefore, providing the plausible comfort the whole time. Moreover, the soft and warmer finish of the fabric helps in amplifying the comfort level of the fabric-upholstered sofa.

Tip – Since leather retains body heat, it is advisable to use leather upholstery for the sofa in cold regions or for spaces that are completely air-conditioned.

Although, both the materials carry their sets of pros and cons, but the chosen material for the sofa should be in compliance with one's choices and needs. One should be extremely chuffed while in the lap of their sofa. The sofa is one piece of furniture that one does not buy every day hence, getting it right in one go is quintessential. One should gauge in all the points prior to the final purchase. There is an array of choice to suit one's taste and most importantly the budget. These are but a few points that can help one make an informed decision while buying a new sofa. While the budget matters, the material helps in achieving the desired character of the space by means of the sofa set. One can even opt to go in for the best of both the materials if it is done in a balanced and rhythmic manner.